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Why soccer fans are among the most avid sports betting fans in the world

Denmark v Belgium - UEFA Euro 2020: Group B
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When it comes to sports betting across the globe, it would be fair to say that those who dabble in soccer bets are among the most profitable for the industry.

The level of soccer betting, especially in Europe (where it goes toe to toe with horse racing), is astonishing and is an interesting area to delve deeper into.

Soccer Betting vs. Football Betting

In much of the world, soccer is referred to as football, not to be confused with American football, so for the purposes of this piece, we’ll refer to them as soccer and football, respectively, even if doing so may well anger those in Europe and beyond.

Soccer betting is huge in Europe and the far-east, and the numbers wagered dwarf those invested in American football; that’s chiefly because betting on American football is primarily a US-based pastime, whereas soccer betting takes place in vast markets all around the globe.

The level of betting is so large that many sites offer great assistance to soccer bettors, much the same way as https://www.sidelines.io does for those who want to bet on American sports leagues (such as NFL, NBA, and MLB).

Loyalty

Soccer bettors are avid in terms of their betting rates, and this often falls in line with the teams they follow. In other words, soccer lovers can’t get enough of betting on their team to win big, even if the chances of doing so are slim.

This is particularly true when it comes to fans betting on their national teams in big tournaments, so much so that when it comes to single events and the amount that is bet on them, the FIFA World Cup drives numbers that make the Super Bowl seem like a harmless bit of fun.

As a guide, the amount bet on the Super Bowl is usually around $4 billion, which is huge; the total amount bet on the last World Cup, in 2018 when it took place in Russia, was $151 billion…

Regularity

The NFL season may seem long, and indeed in 2021, the regular season was expanded to 17 games, soccer leagues run much longer. The English Premier League, for example, sees teams play 38 games, and then there’s the small matter of two domestic cup competitions (which can see a team play another 10-12 games combined), and then there’s the European competition, with the Champions League season adding another possible 13 matches.

This means that a very successful team might play upwards of 55-60 matches, which brings the soccer season more in line with the NBA, though some way behind Major League Baseball when it comes to the number of games played.

This offers soccer bettors so much more possibilities when it comes to betting on the action, which helps to breed the interest in soccer betting, hence its huge popularity.

It’s worth saying that soccer betting is becoming more attractive to those in the US, with Major League Soccer growing year on year when it comes to a fanbase that not only attends matches but also bets heavily on them.

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